Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. As monsoon rains bring much needed water to Arizona’s deserts, you may notice some of the state’s beloved shell-backed reptiles on ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The group of young tortoises spent their early life in a headstart program operated by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and The ...

The animals are also vulnerable to a range of deadly diseases such as upper respiratory illnesses and the shell disease cutaneous dyskeratosis, which softens their shells. Finally, as climate change ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Spotting a Mojave Desert tortoise is ...

For the desert tortoise, an approximately 1-foot-long reptile found in desert valleys across California and the American Southwest, a full lifespan can be up to 80 years. So while the Mojave National ...

California’s Mojave Desert has become the backdrop of choice for many Instagram influencers who dig the aesthetics of Joshua trees and the otherworldly arid landscapes. Joshua Tree National Park now ...

NPCA has been working to expand Joshua Tree National Park and establish Chuckwalla National Monument to protect desert tortoise habitat. Here’s why an intact desert landscape matters for the tortoise ...

CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. — Behind the fences surrounding this 40-square-mile outback of cactus and wiry creosote, the largest remaining population of Mojave desert tortoises was soaking up the morning ...

Spotting a Mojave Desert tortoise is increasingly difficult in the American Southwest. The tortoises, with their unmistakable domed patterned shells, live in California, parts of Nevada, Arizona and ...

As monsoon rains bring much needed water to Arizona’s deserts, you may notice some of the state’s beloved shell-backed reptiles on the move. State wildlife officials have a message for those who may ...